A Tribute to My Mom
My mom passed away on Friday. It was a shock. She had been sick for a while, but no one expected her to go so soon. I spoke at her funeral. As I reflected about all the amazing qualities of my mom, I was reminded of all the lessons she taught me. So many of those lessons have influenced who I am as a business owner today and who I will become tomorrow.
I’d like to share them with you.
My mom was a force to be reckoned with – one that pulled together a family of 3 very strong willed daughters and one very independent father, a family that started out as 5 and grew to 13 with marriages and children. Every year we got together at Christmas, Thanksgiving and often a separate vacation. I must admit that often I complained about having to go home so often, but I did it anyway, as I had a mixture of fear and love that made me not want to disappoint my mother. She was a strong leader.
It was on these family occasions that my nieces and nephews became so attached that they often sleep on the same couch when they watch movies, often four of them at once. They hold hands as they walk around the house. It was also on these occasions that I got a chance to connect with my brother in laws, and had long conversations with my dad.
My mom was the first to teach me that Isolation is the enemy of wealth. It was through her that I understood that nothing compares to connecting with people eyeball to eyeball. It is the reason that I include live events in all of my programs.
How are you avoiding the isolation both personally and professionally? Could you use a little more personal connection? Do you find yourself often getting off track in your business, getting distracted by business opportunities or personal drama? This is usually due to the fact that you don’t have a community of entrepreneurs to pull you on track again. When I do my live events, over and over again women come to me and say, “Monica, if she can do it, I can do it”. It is a place to get validated, inspired and gain momentum. Be sure that you have a community that you are connecting with regularly – it is the secret sauce to success in your business.
My mom was also courageous and strong. She never walked away from her desires. She just evolved and adapted when her body didn’t cooperate. Three years ago, she started carrying an oxygen tank around with her everywhere to help her breathe. She was a world traveler and loved adventures. She didn’t let the oxygen stop her. She found a service that would deliver the oxygen to her hotels and found roller bags to put the tanks on. Only my mom would go whale watching with an oxygen tank.
When the breathing became harder and it was tough for her to walk, she started renting motor scooters. Her travels switched to cruises, where she could motor around the boat and take tours that allowed her to go on a scooter. Just last September my mom, dad and I spent 14 days on a cruise through Canada. She scooted her way around the Ann of Green Gables Estate (much to the chagrin of the owners :-)).
She was unstoppable. Her focus was always on how she could figure out a solution, not what she used to be able to do.
So often as entrepreneurs we get stuck in what we can’t do or why we can’t move forward. We choose to focus on how our website broke down or how we can’t get to an event. Or we focus on how we don’t have enough money or how much debt we have. But we are most successful when we focus on moving forward no matter what is going on. Being open to the possibility that there is always a solution no matter what is being thrown at us.
My mom was the ultimate MacGyver – always figuring out how to maneuver despite her limitations. One weekend I went home and there were plastic clothespins holding the hand towels on the towel rods in the bathrooms. I asked my mom what they were for and she said, “It’s hard for me to pick the towels up these days, so the clothespins keep them on the rack.”
I was struck by her ability to find a solution to a simple, yet very real problem.
She will forever inspire me to keep going. To be open to the possibility that there is always a path to follow your desires no matter what life throws your way.
May you too be inspired – so that no matter what your priorities, responsibilities and needs are – you can figure out how to have a successful business.
Sometimes you might just need a plastic clothespin.
Thanks, mom. I miss you.
Please share below who has inspired you, I would love to know!
